Graduation

I know I have been sparse in updating the blog the past few weeks, but the end of May/beginning of June is always a crazy time. After all, it's the end of something and the beginning of something all in one. In the past two weeks I've been to 3 graduation ceremonies and numerous graduation parties. This weekend we will "graduate" the student ministry seniors with a special "senior edition" of our Sunday morning program. This is always a bitter-sweet time for me as a student minister. I get sad when I think about how over the next three months virtually all of our graduated seniors will launch their new lives...away from this city and our church. And I also get very excited for them as they take their optimistic attitudes off to change the world.

There are a few things I think about every year around this time...and I'd love to share it with you, our parents. The first one is this...time flies! You know this, regardless of whether your child is in 6th grade or 12th grade. Just yesterday you were changing diapers, right? It sure feels like it. But the importance of recognizing that time flies lies in your small window to influence the direction of your child's life. So to this fact I say...don't put off a conversation until tomorrow that you can have today. Before you know it, your 18 year old will be walking out the door to start their adult lives. Most of who your child will become is formed before they are 18, which means it's right now when you speak the most influentially into their lives. So do it. Speak truth to them...even when it seems uncomfortable. Speak love to them...even when they are making mistakes. Speak confidence into them...even when you are uncertain. This time won't last forever.

The second thing I would say is...pray for your kids constantly and talk openly about faith to them. Part of the reason that graduation is bitter-sweet for me is because of a national statistic that you don't hear spoken of very often. Right now in the US, 80% of kids who were actively involved in their youth group and said they would actively pursue faith in college walk away from faith by the end of their college career. Now, I don't tell you that statistic to scare you, but to call you to action. I get to hang out with your kids for 1-2 hours a week, maybe totaling 40 hours a year. You get to hang out with your kids a whole lot more than that. It is proven that kids who talk openly with their families about faith have a much higher rate of pursuing their faith once they hit adulthood. My prayer is that while you have their ear, that you would talk with them about what it means to pursue God in their lives. And pray like crazy for them...that God would become very real to them before they head out into a world that doesn't often celebrate faith.

And the last thing is this...celebrate! Graduation is an amazing time of celebration. I watched tonight as all of the graduates and relatives hugged, smiled and enjoyed the moment. But don't wait until graduation to celebrate your kids. Celebrate them every day. Help them see their value and the value of hard work. Remember...while we are busy making plans for the future, the future comes quickly. Enjoy the moment.

And...congratulations to the class of 2009 (both parents and students)...we are proud of you!!